Can Anxiety Effect One Side Of The Body?

Really getting worried about left sided symptoms. I made a post a while back about these symptoms, fearing that they were mini strokes, or possible MS/tumour etc.

• Left side feelings of weakness - arm, leg, strange feelings in face - feels like my left leg wont hold me up, gets worse when I exercise it more. Happens even when I'm not 'anxious'
• Left sided tingling and numb patches - arm leg, face
• A terrible sense of weakness like I'm about to faint yet I never do
• 'Duller' vision in left eye that seems to happen out of nowhere then resolves in a hour or so
• Feeling slightly off balance/drunk when walking
• Migraine headaches that may or not happen at the same time as these symptoms
• Heart palpitations and fatigue

Since then, I've been to my GP who ran all the typical strength tests as I was feeling left arm weakness during my appointment. I had an ECG/EKG recently and it was fine. She listened to the arteries in my neck and they sounded normal too, so no restricted blood flow there.

She said it didn't seem like a TIA/mini stroke as I didn't have any actual clinical weakness that she could see. She urged me to book an eye test though, as she said they can see into my eyes a lot better than they can in a GP's surgery and that if there's any pressure in my brain, they would catch it. That's got me really scared, as she didn't consider anxiety as a cause for this. I was hoping she would say anxiety can cause all of this stuff, but maybe she was just being cautious? Shes also chasing up on my neurologists appointment as they cancelled and never rescheduled one for me. (on the NHS waiting list for like 7 months now). While her eagerness to help is wonderful (I've been ignored by so many other GP's) it's also made my anxiety worse as I'm convinced she thinks it's something really serious.

Rather than feel reassured, I'm even more anxious about these symptoms now. I was sure she would say stress and anxiety can cause sensations like this. I'm hoping somebody else has a similar story which turned out to be anxiety or stress induced? I'm so terrified that something in my brain is growing and pressing on a nerve and that's what's causing the one sided symptoms. To me, there's no other possible explanation because it doesn't fit with logic. Like, every symptom is on the left side of my body so that MUST mean something's causing pressure/inflammation. It's not like your brain can just decide to be stressed on one side...?

Hi there! :)

Sorry to hear about your concerns and symptoms, but I just wanted to say my anxiety symptoms is mainly one sided too which is my left side. My left leg, left arm and left ear have played up in the past, currently my left leg is my main concern (taking it one day at a time though) I get pain mainly on the left side of my ribs when I’m having breathing problems with anxiety too. I find it strange but apparently it’s really common and it can result from a focus on a certain part of you that are you worried about on a certain side. Example: my left leg has a harmless lump on it and a mark on my foot, so my anxiety thinks I have a deadly blood clot or something because I am focusing on the left side. In fact, earlier today I went into a panic because I thought my left foot was red and hurting, then once I calmed down I realised my right foot was the exact same once I started looking for symptoms on that side too. Rest assured if you don’t have clinical weakness then it’s anxiety I’m afraid. Take care :hugs:

Peace and love

Thanks for your reply :) Really hoping it's just my anxiety playing up and being over focused on one side of the body. I'm taking comfort in the fact that the lack of clinical weakness means it can't be all the dreadful things I'm telling myself I might have. Though I still worry something is effecting my nervous system to create all of these sensations....though that something might be anxiety. I'll try focus my attention on my right to 'even out the anxiety' haha

Hope you start feeling better soon too!

Have you been worrying about something that could manifest as a one sided ambush? This happens to me a lot, I'll spend a while fearing something in particular and then I start to get symptoms related to it, then I take a long time trying to separate legitimate symptoms from imagined/magnified ones then I try to dissect how much stems from my mind and how much from real sensations, it's very difficult to get a hold of where everything spills from though. I would be very reassured that the GP is being so attentive and doing all they can to get to any possible root, that is what you want as much as it is terrifying to wait to discover, but it will also quieten any lingering fears for a while.

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Originally Posted by Confetti

Have you been worrying about something that could manifest as a one sided ambush? This happens to me a lot, I'll spend a while fearing something in particular and then I start to get symptoms related to it, then I take a long time trying to separate legitimate symptoms from imagined/magnified ones then I try to dissect how much stems from my mind and how much from real sensations, it's very difficult to get a hold of where everything spills from though. I would be very reassured that the GP is being so attentive and doing all they can to get to any possible root, that is what you want as much as it is terrifying to wait to discover, but it will also quieten any lingering fears for a while.

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Maybe, I'm not sure, as the symptoms felt like they just came out of nowhere THEN I started worrying about one sided issues. I suppose as I have migraines which can happen on one side of my head, I may be subconsciously over-focusing on left sided issues. Though when I really think about it, I've always been quite scared of MS or tumours so maybe it's something buried really deep in my mind that manifesting now. I think what sets me off most is that it seems to happen out of nowhere, and it FEELS so real. One eye gets kind of 'duller' and the eyelid seems super tired, then slowly the rest of my left side gets that weird, weak sensation. I immediately start thinking mini stroke, MS, tumour or some kind of brain virus/ inflammation, weak blood vessel. None of which end well! I've had at CT scan and that really relaxed me until I learned that CT scans don't actually pick up small tumours, mini strokes, small bleeds or MS lesions etc.I feel like an MRI would assuage some of my fears, and I'm definitely thankful that my GP is taking me so seriously. I just can't seem to let go of the feeling that only something malignant could cause one sided issues like mine. (Yep, I googled it way too much and read all kinds of horrific things, namely neurologists saying anything effecting side side of the body should be considered very serious...eek) I did read of something called functional neuralgia though, but that only seems to effect one limb. Mine is all over the left side, and comes in waves.

---------- Post added at 16:15 ---------- Previous post was at 13:19 ----------

Having a real wobbly moment right now. Having the the weird weak feelings on left side again after making lunch. Starting to panic as I'm convinced something in my brain is about to rupture or degrade. My face and fingers on the left hand felt a little numb/burning to touch and I felt like my leg wouldn't hold me up. I'm sure that an important nerve in my brain is being attacked because I was totally relaxed before it happened, no anxiety. I have to wait for my neuro appointment but that could take months.
Not sure I'll make it till then:(